Almost all my lps are 30-50 years old and most have taken some hard use during my college years. I've only very recently assembled the vinyl source gear, and my goal is to enjoy spinning the lp collection I now have. I did buy a VPI record cleaning machine and record/stylus brushes.
In this context, I'll likely not upgrade beyond the Eros phono stage as I have a good supply of all the tubes it requires and its older and less costly sibling has really impressed me.
I want my revisitation of vinyl to be fun, and least labor intensive. One thing I already miss is the convenience of the vintage automatic/semi-auto tables of my youth - sonic penalty accepted (within reason). I have a refurbished Dual CS-704 on the way from Germany and may upgrade its wiring and use it with the retipped Virtuoso in place of the Roksan if its sound is acceptable. Again, mine is not the pursuit of s.o.t.a., and a well cared-for, reasonable quality vintage semi-automatic table mated to a very good and compatible cartridge may appeal to the nostalgic in me - especially spinning used lps and feeding a better phono stage that doesn't far outclass it.
In this context, I'll likely not upgrade beyond the Eros phono stage as I have a good supply of all the tubes it requires and its older and less costly sibling has really impressed me.
I want my revisitation of vinyl to be fun, and least labor intensive. One thing I already miss is the convenience of the vintage automatic/semi-auto tables of my youth - sonic penalty accepted (within reason). I have a refurbished Dual CS-704 on the way from Germany and may upgrade its wiring and use it with the retipped Virtuoso in place of the Roksan if its sound is acceptable. Again, mine is not the pursuit of s.o.t.a., and a well cared-for, reasonable quality vintage semi-automatic table mated to a very good and compatible cartridge may appeal to the nostalgic in me - especially spinning used lps and feeding a better phono stage that doesn't far outclass it.